I can't blame my slowness on anything but my processor. ~sigh~ Anyway, I have a question that perhaps you can answer. I notice that Firefox uses something like 30,000K of memory (plus more for each tab that's open). However, Opera (of which I am no fan) only uses 20,640K (a little more for each tab opened). Am I right that Opera therefore frees FAH to use more memory? Is 10,000K worth being worried about? (Seems like it would over time.)
The key factor is CPU utilization and not memory. It's doing a lot of math and not much data processing. If it's pegging your CPU, it's running well.
Firefox, in my experience, has a memory leak. Put it this way, the longer I leave it running, the more memory it uses. Eventually (after three or four days), I notice it using 90,000K then 100,000K+, then it crashes.
Your mileage may vary, and I have no experience with Opera or FAH memory needs.
What I do know is that Firefox benefits from being shut down and restarting.